The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) will be offering a full refund of the US$185,000
application fee back to companies and individuals that
were affected by a recent a software glitch
found in its TLD Application System (TAS).

"In recognition of the inconvenience caused by the
temporary suspension of the TLD application system,
ICANN will provide a full refund of the application fees
paid by any new gTLD applicant that wishes to withdraw
its application prior to publication of the list of
applied-for new top-level domain names," the
organization anounced.

A resolution authorizing full refunds was adopted during
an ICANN Board of Directors workshop in Amsterdam on
Sunday, 6 May 2012.

"We recognize that this represents an increase of only
US $5000 over the refund that withdrawing applicants
would otherwise receive, but we believe it is an
important part of fulfilling our commitment to treat
applicants fairly," ICANN added.

The sofware glitch meant some applicants could view
other applicant's file names under certain
circumstances.

TLD applications were originally meant to close on 12
April with the big reveal of which companies had applied
for TLD names slated for 1 May 2012 in Australia.
However, the software glitch has caused ICANN to delay
the announcements.

"We regret the difficulties that we know the temporary
suspension of TAS is causing," ICANN added.